Attaining the Impossible
by ooza
Summary: True love never dies, but that doesn't mean it's easy. What do you do when the one you love doesn't choose you? One-shot written for Fandom for Preemies. Edward/Bella   AH   Rated T


**Summary:** True love never dies, but that doesn't mean it's easy. What do you do when the one you love doesn't choose you? One-shot written for Fandom for Preemies. Edward/Bella ~ AH ~ Rated T

**Disclaimer:** All publicly recognizable characters, settings, situations, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended. Please do not repost my stories elsewhere. A lot of time and effort went into writing stories that revolve around characters I didn't create in the first place. I don't take credit for them, so don't take credit for what's mine. Let's play nice, okay?

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_**Attaining the Impossible**_

Edward Cullen looked at the clock. It was almost noon. He had a little over an hour before his wife would show up. With a sigh, he sat back in his chair and looked up at the ceiling.

The phone on his desk chimed before a voice came over the speaker. "Mr. Cullen? A Miss Swan is here to see you."

"Miss _Swan_?" he scoffed. "Send her in."

_Shit_, he thought to himself. _What rotten timing_.

Frantically, he cleared off his desk. Notes and stray papers were tossed into drawers. What remained of his half-eaten lunch was thrown into the garbage can. He quickly wiped the crumbs and dust off his desk, not wanting to look like a slob. Last but not least, he removed the three pictures of his wife from around his office and hastily stashed them in a cabinet.

He barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief before a knock sounded on the door.

"Come in."

The door opened slowly, and the love of his life stepped into his office. "Hello, Edward."

"Bella," he said and gestured to the clock. "I wasn't expecting—"

"I know. I should have called. I'm sorry."

"It's not a problem," he said nervously. "Here, have a seat." He pulled out a chair on the opposite side of the desk from his.

Bella's steps were slow and measured as she approached him. Edward didn't like the tense atmosphere. He quickly moved away from Bella and took a seat behind his desk.

"The car has 2,300 miles on it. That's okay, right?" she asked as she set the keys on Edward's desk.

"That's perfect. It gets hard to sell new cars once the mileage goes over 2,500. Thanks for bringing it back on such short notice."

Bella nodded. "Thanks for letting me drive it. Things have been . . . tough."

"Anything for you, Bella. Did you like it?"

The sadness slowly dissipated as she grinned. "It was fun to drive. Fast! I don't think a convertible would be very practical during the winter, though."

Edward smiled at her enthusiasm. He would do anything to keep her happy. "The weather will still be nice for a few more months. I can get you another convertible; red this time?"

"No," she said adamantly. "You've done too much for me already. It's not right. Besides, I don't want you getting in trouble."

Edward leaned back in his chair and frowned. "Bella, it's my dealership. I can give you a demo car if I want."

"I know, but you know . . ."

"Yeah," he agreed. "I know."

Edward glanced at the clock quickly, the time making him nervous.

"I should probably get going," Bella said as she stood up. "Can you give me a ride home?"

"I, uh, can't right now," he lied.

"That's okay." She failed at hiding her disappointment from Edward. "I'll just call a cab."

"No!" he said as she pulled a cell phone from her purse. "Let me call a few people first. I don't want you to take a cab."

Edward picked up his phone and quickly dialed Ben, the assistant manager.

The phone rang and rang and rang. Edward tapped his foot impatiently while he looked at the clock again. With his left hand, he began to fiddle with the set of car keys on his desk. When he was sent to Ben's voicemail, he left a cryptic message.

"Hey, Ben, it's Edward. Bella's in my office right now and needs a ride home. If you could hurry up with that project I gave you I would greatly appreciate it."

"I don't mind taking a cab, really. It sounds like Ben is busy," Bella said after he hung up the phone.

"No, no, let me call someone else." Edward picked up his phone again and pretended to dial a set of numbers. He needed more time. She couldn't take a cab home; it would ruin the surprise.

"Edward?" Bella's shaky whisper caught his attention. He followed her gaze to where it was fixed on the ring finger of his left hand. Slowly, he set the phone down and hung his head. He hadn't wanted her to see the wedding band, but in the rush of her arrival, he had forgotten to take it off.

"Why are you wearing that?" Bella asked as her emotions quickly escalated.

Edward shook his head, unable to find an appropriate explanation.

"You can't wear that! We're not married anymore."

"I want to wear it," he retorted. "I still love you. I still have hope for us."

Bella covered her mouth as tears welled in her eyes. "That's not fair."

"No. Not fair is being forced to sign divorce papers. Not fair is watching you walk out of my life." Edward looked up in time to watch her tears fall. "Please, just let me have this."

Bella opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the phone on the desk.

"Cullen speaking," Edward answered tersely.

"_Hey, I just got your message."_

His mood was immediately lifted. "Ben, where are you?"

"_Pulling into the lot right now."_

"Is it ready?"

"_Almost. Gonna run it through the wash."_

"Great. Leave the keys in it."

"_Will do."_

Edward stood and nodded toward the door. "Come take a walk with me."

Bella followed him outside. They slowly walked around the large lot of shiny, new vehicles. Things were tense between them, neither wanting to speak first. Edward thought about their marriage and how it failed, and he wondered if Bella was thinking about the same thing.

They were married young. Too young. When times became tight, tensions ran high. Eventually the stress of it all—the responsibility, the commitment, growing up—became too much for Bella. She wanted to travel across the country as a free lance photographer. It was her dream for as long as she could remember. Edward, however, had a strong bond with his family and didn't want to move.

He gave her an ultimatum—him or her dream—and she called his bluff.

Now, five years later, she was back home. Life didn't pan out the way Bella expected, and Edward wanted to be the one to pick up the pieces. Bella, always an independent person, was still hell bent on making things work on her own.

Finally, Edward couldn't take the silence any longer. "So . . . when did you go back to being a Swan?"

She took a deep breath. "Actually, I'm still Isabella Cullen. I'm kind of trying it out before I decide if I want to go through the hassle of changing it."

"Well, I'm glad you didn't."

"Edward—" she began to say in warning.

"It's not what you think," he interrupted. He knew she didn't like it when he referred to her as his wife, even though he still thought of her that way. "It's just that I already filed the paperwork for your new car, and I would hate to have to change your name."

"My what?" Bella asks in surprise.

"Your new car. Well, technically it's used, but it's new to you. I didn't think you'd be comfortable with me buying you a sixty thousand dollar 2011—"

"I'm not comfortable with you buying me _any_ car, Edward. If you somehow found a vehicle shittier than the truck I bought after . . . well, I still wouldn't be comfortable with it."

Edward smiled at the memory. "At least look at it first."

"Fine," she huffed.

They walked around the back of the building where a bright blue coupe was parked. "Ta-da!" Edward quietly exclaimed.

Bella's eyes widened as she took in the vision of the car in front of her. It was almost the same as the dealership car she drove for the past few months.

"It's a couple of years older than the car you had, but it's not a convertible. And it's _yours_. Do you like it?"

"I love it," she whispered. Edward knew she would. She had wanted that car ever since he first started working for the company, when they were still together. "But I can't accept this."

"Please take it." Edward wrapped his arm around Bella's shoulder and leaned down to whisper in her ear. He still felt guilty for allowing her drive around the U.S. in the heap of junk she bought when she left him. "We never had a need to buy a car because of my job. I owe this to you. Take it."

Bella shook her head but stepped toward the car anyway. She made a slow circle around it, looking at the beautiful contours and shiny paint. The body was flawless, and the color was so unique that she idly wondered if he'd had it repainted. "I'm not sure."

"Sit in it." Edward opened the door so she could slip inside. He surprised her with a kiss on the cheek before closing the door behind her.

She noticed the familiar scent once the door was closed. Roses. Edward used to buy her a bouquet of roses every week. She turned to find the entire backseat filled with rose petals. They weren't the red ones she expected to see but were instead an intense shade of blue, so bright that she was positive they matched the exterior of the car.

Edward had been doing little things like this on and off since she came home, trying to win back her love. She turned to ask him about the color, whether it had some sort of meaning, but he was nowhere in sight. She frowned, realizing he probably left on purpose so she would be less likely to say no to the car. She felt bad that he didn't give her a chance to thank him.

The key was already in the ignition. Bella started the car, and it purred quietly to life. As she pulled out of the lot, she made a promise to herself to decode the message Edward was sending her this time.

When Bella arrived at her apartment later that afternoon, the first thing she did was search the internet for the meaning of blue roses.

_Impossible, Unattainable_

_Blue roses exist in fantasy but not in nature._

_Attaining the impossible_

Bella didn't finish reading the page. She grabbed her purse and keys, and without a second thought as to what she was about to do, she drove back to the dealership.

Back to Edward.

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**The End**


End file.
